Mansfield Mysteries

These photos which we understand were taken in Mansfield are part of a collection given to Mansfield Museum without any identification or date on them.

Can any one identify the buildings?

Where they were taken from?

Or a rough idea of the date?

No 1
No 2
No 3
No 4
No 5
No 6

Comments about this page

  • Photos 2 and 4 are images of the Meridian / Courtaulds Factory on Belvedere Street

    By Geoff Skidmore (03/04/2016)
  • Pictures 2 and 4 remain a mystery. I agree they seem to have been taken from the roof of the Co-op on Queen Street. The sloping glazed roof lights indicate the main building was industrial – possibly clothing. I thought for a while it might have been part of the old Foister Clay and Ward (later Courtaulds Meridian ) building but it was on the wrong side of Stockwell Gate. The location appears to be where the Four Seasons Car park or Beales building are now located. Was there a clothing factory on this spot – maybe an annexe of Mansfield Hosiery Mills which was nearby on Rosemary Street?

    By Robert Throw (04/11/2015)
  • Picture 1 is the rear of Bridge Street Methodist Church. The building nearest is known as the Stanhope Building. This was badly damaged by fire in the 90’s and rebuilt as it was a listed building and then separated from the church with it’s own car park. This was all done at the same time as the large Sunday school which stood next to the church was demolished to make way for a car park which is still there. Around this time part of the car park fell into rock court  destroying two cars. The whole project to co-ordinated by Rev Norman Bray of the church at the time.

    By jim bray (03/07/2015)
  • Picture one is of the old Stanhope Centre which is part of Bridge Street Methodist Church. This building was destroyed in a fire and has been recently rebuilt and shows details like it did in this picture.

    By Annoymouse (20/04/2012)
  • Yes Alan, a fine structure indeed. It is a shame that it was disfigured in the 70’s by building the unsympathetic abutment against the 3 decorative arches on Station Hill / Drive / Approach?

    By Berisford Jones (15/03/2012)
  • Berisford, I have been looking at another old map. Not Station Hill, not Station Drive, but Station Approach. I still prefer Station Hill.Try looking for Spittle Gate, or Kirk Gate ??

    By Alan Curtis (24/02/2012)
  • With reference to Ian’s query, regarding the name of the hardware shop at the top of White Hart St. It was H.H.Cross & Son, woodwork supplies.

    By Angela Roche (20/01/2012)
  • Picture 5 is most definatley Queen Street, The roof at the bottom left is Sid Booths Record Shop so most youngsters in the sixties will remember it.

    By Michael Wilson (18/01/2012)
  • Berisford, you have made me reflect on how beautiful that the area was! The start of the Viaduct and the arches,  which took 1000 men over a year to build. It spanned the centre of Mansfield, making the rail link to the East of the country accessible for distributing coal etc etc. The high stone walls either side.The hoardings on the high walls. The cobble stones taking you up past the rear of the Midland Hotel, to the front of the Mansfield Station and to the front of the Midland Hotel (with all the clocks on the wall inside). To the left of the station was a steep walkway that cut the corner off the hill and lead you to towards the market. The walkway had iron bollards at each end. To the right of the station was the cobbled road down another hill to Belvedere Street. At the right of the Midland Hotel, was a stone circled wall about four feet high with black capping stones, the wall encircled allotments. Across from the rear of the Midland Hotel was another walkway that lead you to Quaker Lane. Buses for Crown Farm used to turn round near the station and you could also catch a bus from there to Newark at the bus stop there. Over the fence was a scrap yard, just behind the rear of the houses on Belvedere Street.

    By Alan Curtis (03/12/2011)
  • Alan, I’m with you, Station Hill would be the obvious name for it but I was surprised when viewing the 1917 OS map to see that clearly marks it as ‘Station Drive’! Despite this, at some point it became, and is still known as, ‘Station Road’. It must have been very confusing in the early part of the last century, Station Street one side of the tracks with Station Drive / Road / Hill the other! From what I can remember the passenger Station was only accessed from the Midland Hotel side. There was a subway but it was ‘internal’. Quite a long way around if you went up Station Street by mistake?

    By Berisford Jones (02/12/2011)
  • Alan, there is another Mansfield mystery, was it ‘Station Hill’ or ‘Station Drive’?

    By Berisford Jones (01/12/2011)
  • Berisford, Thank you..It was always Station Hill to us..Never heard of Station Drive. Quite a climb up to the Mansfield Station from both sides of the station..Nice talking to you Berisford…..Alan

    By Alan Curtis (01/12/2011)
  • Ian, I’m not quite sure of which shop you describe…. If it was the very end shop, and built into the arch, it was James’s Drug Store….not a Hardware Shop… Otherwise Berisford is correct, in saying Heymeyer and Copeland. Although, H and C did occupy the first arch on the left of Station Hill, using it as a Stock/Show room in addition to their shop at the top of Queen Street… There is a photograph of the top of White Hart Street on this site (The Beauty Of Mansfield.) showing James shop just before demolition.

    By alcurtis (29/11/2011)
  • Ian, could it be Hameyer and Copeland?

    By Berisford Jones (27/11/2011)
  • Can anyone remember the name of the hardware shop that was under the viaduct at the top of White Hart Street / Queens Street in the late 70’s. It was actually built in under the viaduct and was the very end shop. Amongst other things they used to sell BSA air rifles

    By Ian (26/11/2011)
  • Picture 4. I agree with Darren, Stockwell Gate, the building with the exposed roof timbers is/was the Horse and Groom, a stone building with a distinctive curved corner on the west side.

    By Berisford Jones (30/07/2011)
  • No 1 is the building at back of the Methodist church on Bridge street, St Peter’s Way now run down on left. There is a car park in front of the building, this photo taken from where the other side of the banana bridge. No 6 is of Rock Court taken from the now car park.

    By Pete Bennett (26/07/2011)
  • No.6 is Rock Court where my mother lived as child in the 1920’s.

    By Darrell Jones (21/04/2011)
  • Pictures 2, 3, 4 and 5 are all from the roof of the co-op, but looking in different directions. Picture 2 looks north across Stockwell Gate to what is now the Rosemary Centre. The Meeting House is the building in the distance just above centre. Picture 4 is the same view but with the camera tilted down to show demolition works on Stockwell Gate (presumably the start of clearance works for the Four Seasons?) Picture 3 looks across to the Market Place (a similar view can be had now from Co-ops restaurant, and picture 5 is from a similar view looking down onto Queen St.

    By Darren Turner (31/01/2011)
  • Picture 5.. The trees and the wall belonged to the big house at the corner of Queen Street and the Station Hill.The house belonged to the railway Station Master’s family…I was taken there by my father in the early 1940’s.He too worked for the L.M.S. ..Near to the bus stop is Quaker Lane, which also leads to the Station and Portland St. Syd Booth’s record shop stood at right angles to Queen St.The furniture shop could have been Jacobs or maybe Jacksons ?..The two Side streets on the left both lead you down to the market and the Town Hall…Further along on the left is the indoor market. I don’t know if they are still there, but at the top of the cobble stone Quaker Lane, on the right, there were some grave stones.

    By alan curtis (31/01/2011)
  • I think picture 3 is also from the roof of the Co-op store on Queen Street looking towards the railway viaduct and beyond. In the far distance from left to right is the Metal Box Factory. To the right of this is the spire of St Peter’s Church. To the right of this is the industrial chimney and tall block of what was then the East Midlands Electricity and also in the 60’s the Redifusion TV company. This side of the viaduct are the buildings surrounding Mansfield Market place with the National Westminster Bank on the left. Further to the right is the side of the Town Hall to the right of which is the old magistrates court. The rear of the light coloured building in the centre foreground is I think the rear of the Market Inn. Underneath the arches of the viaduct you can just make out some of the shops and buildings of White Hart Street.

    By Robert Throw (25/08/2010)
  • Further to my prevous submission The Bus in the Lower right Hand section would be Service 112 Bull Farm Not The 103 Or 106 Services The Bus above the 103 Ladybrook outside The Queens Head

    By MGR (10/08/2010)
  • No 5 QUEEN STREET from the Roof of the Coop Shop Top Right with black Frontage was Bettisons Jewellers BUS Top will be the 103 service outside the Queens Head The Lower Bus could be either the 101 or 106 Sutton service The main Shop used to be Jacksons Stores Furniture Shop Above that at one time was The Hollywood Hat Shop The Roof in the Bottom Left was that of Syd Booth’s Record Hi Fi and TV shop

    By Malcolm Raynor (07/08/2010)
  • Picture 6 is in rock court (Gilberts yard) behind the sundial house that once my father owned. The house in the picture at some point in the 60s was used by a funeral director.

    By graham flint (12/07/2010)
  • I think picture 6 is Maltby’s School in Rock Court ,next to the Methodist Church on Bridge St.

    By Pam Kitchen (03/07/2010)
  • I think 4 and 2 are the metalbox/barringers/crown site in mansfield… Its those slanted roof bits that are making me think it is.. Im literally uploading a load of metalbox images now as we are doing a website for them, ill link to one of the images for comparison later 🙂

    By Olly Mooney (02/06/2010)
  • Picture 2 and 4 appear to be the same place, however 2 shows more back ground with Rosemary centre in the far distance and middle right the roof of the friends meeting house. Both pictures show buildings in the foreground that must have been demolished for the delivery area of the Four Seasons shopping centre so they must have been taken before 1975

    By Julie Hawksworth (30/05/2010)
  • Photograph five. I agree with Anonymous’ observations that it’s a view of Queen Street, Mansfield. The furniture showroom mentioned was I believe a store that went by the name of Hardys – today its Ladbrokes. Photograph three. This could, I believe, have almost have been taken from the same place as photograph five. In the middle distance is obviously the railway viaduct. The buildings seen in front, and parallel, to the viaduct run from what was a Bank at the corner of Church Street and Market Street and disappear from view at the point where the shop ‘Just a pound’ is now situated. So, logically the other buildings are those situated around the S.W. corner of the Market Square, e.g. Town Hall (see flag pole of top), Court Building, Public House and the like. The prominent building in the middle foreground could be the one seen if you look down the entrance/yard, which still exists today, between Hardys’ and Syd Booth’s .

    By Peter Smith (30/04/2010)
  • Photograph one. I think that earth embankment that runs across the foot of the photograph could be the result of engineering work prior to building a concrete retaining wall. This wall now marks the edge of St. Peter’s Way as it rising towards the junction of Leeming Street and Bath Lane, Mansfield. The building in the centre of the picture still exists and can be clearly seen using Google’s Streetview facility. The structure behind it, which is a more imposing building is the Methodist Church that’s at the junction of Bridge Street and Ratcliffe Gate. In the distance a church spire can be seen, probably that of St.Peter’s Church. I assume St. Peter’s Way would have been constructed in the 1970s.

    By Peter Smith (25/04/2010)
  • I don’t know the origin of the building in Picture 1 but in the 1950s it was used and probably owned by Bridge Street Methodist Church who used it as a Sunday School and Youth Club. The rear of the church can be seen adjacent to this building. Picture 5 is Queen Street. The building on the left was a furniture showroom. The roof at the front left is prbably Syd Booth’s record shop. The trees were in a garden of a large detached house. The double decker bus in the middle of the picture is at the bus stop outside the Queens Head – one of the services from this bus stop was the 103 which ran to Ladybrook Lane. The bus at the front of the picture is parked outside the Co-op building and was the 101 which ran to Sutton-in-Ashfield.

    By Anonymous (18/04/2010)
  • Picture 5 looks like Queen Street, Mansfield – looking from maybe above the Queens Head or the Co-op.

    By Betty Leatherland (14/04/2010)

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